There are many wonderful things about the festive season. The creation of family traditions, especially those involving delicious food are one of my favourites. My brother in-law made this Smoked Salmon Roulade many years ago for our ‘Melbourne family’ Christmas Day. Since then, I have given it a bit of a Well Nourished make-over, as I do! It’s been a starter for of our Christmas Day feasts ever since.
It makes for a great entertainer, especially as you can make it a day or two ahead and simply slice to serve. It’s quite rich so one or two slices is very satisfying!
It looks quite fussy, but making it to photograph and share with you, I was reminded how very simple it is. It suits gluten and grain-free peeps and I’ve included an equally delicious dairy-free variation.
Remember to take a look at the variations (below the main recipe). Here, you’ll find suggestions to alter the recipe to suit your dietary goals (dairy-free, nut-free, onion-free).
Smoked Salmon Roulade
Ingredients
- 400 g zucchini/s - grated
- 1 tbsp sea salt
- 4 free-range or organic egg/s - separated
- 3 tbsp herbs - I love a combination thyme, parsley, chives, dill
- 3 tbsp parmesan cheese - freshly grated
- Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper - to taste
- Pinch cream of tartar
- 200 g hot smoked salmon fillet (approx.) **
- 1 lemon/s (small) zest and 2 tbsp juice
- 3 tbsp capers
- 4 spring onion/s -white part finely chopped
- 50 g crème fraîche
- 150 g quark - or mascarpone
- Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper - to taste
- 40 g flaked almonds (¼ cup) toasted to serve
- ¼ cup micro-herbs - to serve
** Hot smoked salmon is a whole salmon fillet smoked with heat (cold smoked salmon is the thinly slice/ cured slices of salmon). Hot smoked salmon is available in major supermarkets.
Method
- Preheat your oven to 200℃/395℉ (fan-forced).
- Line a 24 x 33cm slice tin with non-stick baking paper. It's important the tin is this size otherwise the roulade will be too thick and won't roll without splitting.
- Grate the zucchini. Toss with the sea salt in a colander and leave 30 minutes. Rinse and squeeze dry in the sieve and then in a clean cloth or tea-towel.
- In a mixing bowl, beat in the egg yolks, herbs and Parmesan and season with sea salt and pepper. Once the zucchini is ready, add this and mix well.
- In a separate clean bowl, whisk the egg whites with the cream of tartare until peaks just form. Thermomix, butterfly inserted, 1 min 30 sec, speed 4.
- Gently fold the egg white into the courgette/ egg yolk mixture using a large spoon. You are aiming to just combine the ingredients without over working the mixture.
- Pour into prepared tin and quickly level the mixture, spreading it out into the corners. Bake for 13-15 minutes until set and light golden brown.
- Whilst that's baking, crumble the salmon into a bowl with the finely grated lemon zest, 2 tbsp lemon juice, capers, spring onion and crème fraîche, and quark / mascarpone. Season with sea salt and pepper. Mix until almost smooth. Thermomix 20 seconds, speed 3.
- Taste the mixture and season with salt, pepper and more lemon juice if you feel it's needed.
- Store the salmon mixture in the fridge until required.
- When the roulade is cooked, invert it onto a clean tea towel. To do this easily, I wrap the tea-towel around the baking tin then tip it over.
- Peel away the baking paper carefully and loosely roll it up from the short side (so it's like a Swiss roll). Allow it to cool fully.
- When its cooled completely, carefully un-roll the roulade and spread it with the salmon cream filling. Roll-up again from the short side, then carefully transfer to a serving plate with the seam-side down.
- Chill and store in an air-tight container until ready to serve.
Serve
- Carefully toast the almond flakes, watching carefully so they don't burn.
- Cut into 2cm slices and top with toasted almonds and micro-herbs to serve.
Make-ahead
- Either store the filling and the zucchini roll separately (up to 2 days) and assemble the day you plan to serve it. Or you can make one day ahead.
- Store in an airtight container in the fridge and serve at room temperature.
Variations
Dairy-free
Replace the parmesan cheese with the same amount of nutritional yeast. Replace the crème fraîche and quark with approx. one and half cups of cashew nut cream (thickish blend).Nut-free
Simply omit the almonds.Onion-free
Just leave the spring onions out.I'd love to hear how you love this recipe. Post a comment below if you make it or if you have any questions!
Anna says
This roulade is to die for! made for xmas party! OMG amazing! will be a regular on my entertaining recepe list!so easy to make! thank you Georgia ! xx
Georgia Harding says
So pleased you loved it Anna. It’s a family favourite here and easy all round entertainer too. Appreciate your feedback and rating, cheers Georgia x
Jo says
The Roulade is amazing! Also made for a Christmas function and everyone wanted the recipe! I was amazed how easy it was even with getting all the moisture from the zucchini. I had extra salmon so made another batch of the filling adding the herbs in the mix. Perfect with a poached egg and rocket on the side. Thanks for another great recipe 🙂
Georgia Harding says
Hi Jo, thrilled you all enjoyed it. You’re right, it looks a bit fussy, but it is actually pretty simple. Appreciate your feedback and star rating too, Georgia x
Sasha says
Delicious!! Definitely a recipe to keep and make again. My children gobbled it down and fought over the left overs. And, I was surprised it was actually easy to make but looks anything but. Love recipes like this! Thanks Georgia ?
Georgia Harding says
Somehow missed this comment Sasha, sorry. So glad you loved it, cheers for the 5? too G x
Lauren says
Can you suggest brand/s I’d better smoked salmon? I’m averse to buying farmed salmon, and real wild caught is hard to come by as smoked. Thanks!
Georgia Harding says
My local market has wild caught salmon. I don’t know of any though that are available in supermarkets unfortunately ?G x
Amba says
I can’t find quark at the moment, can I use extra creme fraiche or maybe Greek yogurt or sour cream or what would you suggest instead? Thank you, want to make for Sunday!!
Georgia Harding says
I’d sub with Greek yoghurt (strained to get extra moisture out of it) or sour cream would be fine too. Enjoy and have a lovely Easter, Georgia x
Roberta says
Hi may I use cold smoked salmon instead of hot? Would it work? Thanks 🙂
Georgia Harding says
Hi Roberta,
Regular or cold Smoked Salmon has quite a different texture to hot. So it would vary the texture of the filling quite a lot. I’d suggest if you do you use it to perhaps process it so it’s finely chopped. Hope that helps, let me know if you do give it a go G x
Sue Madex says
Tested this out yesterday and it was so easy. (My kitchen skills are a work in progress.) Voted delicious by the taste testers so definitely on the menu for Christmas. Had some leftover of the salmon layer that was yummy on crackers for a snack. Thanks Georgia.
Georgia Harding says
Ah perfect and yes, any leftover salmon does make the best dip. Thanks for your feedback Sue G x
Cyrina Simmons says
This was absolutely delicious and super easy to make. I couldn’t get quark at my local shop so used Ricotta instead and worked absolutely perfect. Now to make it again for Christmas day ?
Georgia Harding says
Fabulous, so glad you enjoyed it Cyrina. I’m making one tomorrow ☺️
Janet says
When I first saw this post I was dying to make it – it just looks so impressive. I was encouraged to do so by your comment that it was simple to make. Made it for Christmas and it was divine – looked exactly like yours (not all my recipes resemble yours unfortunately). This is a very impressive dish with the wow factor and I was amazed how the roulade rolled and unrolled so easily. I felt sure it would break up, but it was fabulous. Another genius recipe, Georgia – thank you for all the wonderful recipes you share.
PS – I tried to give you five stars, but nothing happened when I clicked on them!
Georgia Harding says
So glad you loved it Janet. Appreciate your feedback too G x
Melinda says
Hi Georgia,
I am trying to find a salmon recipe for xmas day, and this looks lovely and has great feedback so I plan on trying it. Can you tell me how many people this serves?
Thanks!
Melinda
Georgia Harding says
It serves 10 Melinda (serves are just above each recipe for future reference). I’m confident you’ll love it, enjoy G x
Melinda says
Hi Georgia, sorry, another query – i am finding it very difficult to find a 24×33 baking tray,
(even online) – is this the minimum size?
thanks!
Melinda
Georgia Harding says
You can make it in a bigger tray and just spread it out to approx. this size on the baking paper, enjoy G x
Melinda says
Hi Georgia, sorry, another query – i am finding it very difficult to find a 24×33 slice tray,
(even online) – is this the minimum size?
thanks!
Melinda
Angela says
Can it be fully assembled and left in fridge overnight.
Georgia Harding says
Yes it can Angela (base on leftovers holding up well in the fridge for me) G x
Cassie says
Delicious and easy to follow recipe
Georgia Harding says
So glad you enjoyed it and found it easy enough Cassie G x
Carmen says
This recipe looks delicious, I am definitely going to try it! Did you use 3 tbsp fresh or dried herbs?
Well Nourished Team says
Hi Carmen, yes fresh herbs for that amazing flavour!
Judy Nicol says
I just noticed the comments on hot salmon? What exactly is it – I know cold smoked salmon and salmon filets but not sure what hot salmon is .
Well Nourished Team says
Hi Judy, cold-smoked salmon is smoked at a cooler temperature, while hot-smoked salmon is smoked a little hotter. In terms of texture, cold-smoked is more smooth and silky, while hot-smoked salmon is flaky, as if it had been baked. Usually you can purchase hot smoked salmon at your supermarket and it comes in a fillet (rather than in thin slices). Hope that clarifies 🙂
Neroli Galvin says
Thank you – I’ve been wondering the exact same thing. I plan on making this for Good Friday!
Well Nourished Team says
Hope you enjoy Neroli ☺️